New streetlights to be installed along Forum Boulevard

COLUMBIA — Street lights will be installed along Forum Boulevard starting Monday at the request of neighborhood residents.

In August 2010, residents submitted the Forum street light project to Columbia City Council, and the council approved. The streetlights will better illuminate intersections at night, making the intersection more visible for drivers.

The project will cost $42,000, Connie Kacprowicz, utility services specialist at Columbia Water and Light, said. Six lights will be installed, and Kacprowicz said the project will probably take more than a day.

The 250-watt high-pressure sodium lights have full cut-off fixtures, which direct light downward to eliminate the spill of light onto neighborhood homes — a problem Kacprowicz said residents were concerned about before the new light fixtures were introduced.

"They really focus the light down on the road where the motor is needed. They don't spray light towards houses and neighborhoods," Kacprowicz said.

"Anytime the city wants to put up new street lights, I think it's a good idea," Mickey said.

When residents request streetlights, it's generally for safety concerns, like visibility, or security issues, like neighborhood watch, Kacprowicz said. The Forum project was more about traffic safety.

Don Johnson lives just around the corner from Doral Drive and is the president of the board of Country Club Villas One, a jurisdiction of the Home Owners Association. He said he thinks the installation will add safety for pedestrians.

"People in the neighborhood get out and walk for exercise or they go and walk their dogs," Johnson said. "The walkers have less risk in tripping and they can see where they're going. I think it's healthy and good."

The lights will be installed along Forum Boulevard where it intersects with Crossings Drive, Canterbury Drive, Doral Drive, Woodrail Avenue, Crestwood Lane and the entrance to the Country Club of Missouri.